The Effects of REG NMS

The key provisions of REG NMS will likely have the same net effect of reducing the net size of orders and increasing market volumes.

Either way, this new market requires firms to understand what will happen, why it is happening and what they will need from a trading system. The likely two out-growths from REG NMS will require systems to handle:

More rapid trading - As order sizes have declined, the speed with which traders must act becomes more crucial to the investment process. The need for superior trading technology to assist the trader has advanced and will continue to advance. Traders will need to make better use of tools such as smart order routing, algorithmic trading, FIX and visualization tools to operate.

Increased system capacity and latency - As volumes continue to increase because of the expansion in advanced trading technology, institutions will need to monitor capacity and latency of their transaction processing systems.

SS&C's Trade Order Management System, Antares, has fully anticipated theses changes. Antares's FIX functionality provides electronic communication with the sell side for indications of interest (IOIs), orders, and executions. It also supports Notice of Executions (NOEs) - execution reports from orders that did not originate from the trade blotter - eliminating manual updates to your data. Antares lets you view multiple IOIs on a single screen, giving you the ability to shop around for the best execution. You can access fill reports and status throughout the day, with up-to-the-second updates on any order.

With Antares, you always have a real-time picture of your positions. Sending orders to execution services and crossing networks is just as easy as communicating with a broker. One click gives you access to more sources of liquidity than ever before - within seconds. Connecting to Autex, Trade Route, and other execution services is just as simple.

Antares is the complete trade order management system that makes it simple to trade and report all types of securities - all from one client-server application. Pre-trade compliance, real-time position and P&L reporting, "what-if" analysis, FIX connectivity, and portfolio modeling are just some of the features that set Antares apart.